Internal-combustion engine



G. B. GERAU.

INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE- APPLlCATlON mm MAR. a, 1919'. i 87, Patentedsept. 7, 1920.

2 SHEETSSHEET l.

WITNESSES 465. MMZ

G. B. GERAU.

INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE.

APPLICATION FILED MAR, 8. I918.

PatentedSept. 7,19%

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stares @FFEQEQQ inwm enema or MIAMI, FLORIDA, assrenor. or ONE-HALFTO SOL L.

$I4II'IH, OF WILLIAMSBUEG, KENTUCKY.

ENTERNAILCOMBUSTION ENG'rTNE.

Application filed March 8,

To all VlF/iO/IL it may con/rm:

lie it known that l, (lnonon B. (imiim, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of llliami, in the county of Dado and State oi l 'lorida, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in internal-Combustion' Engines, of which the followingjs a specification.

My iuvention relates to lHIPJOVQIDCDtS in internal combustion engines, being more particularly an improvement inthe valve mechanism for controlling the gases, and consists in the constructions, combinations and arrangements herein described and claimed.

An object of my invention is'to provide a shuttle valve piston to an internal combustion engine, the arrangement being such that the necessary valve mechanism is cmbodied in the piston and operated from the cross head of the connecting rod, thereby eliminating a considerable portion of the weight of the engine ordinarily represented by the cam shafts, lift rods, etc.

Another object of the invention s to provide an engine having a peculiar type of piston and of such a construction as to cooperate with a pair oi? slide valves operated by the oscillating motion of the cross head as the connecting rod assumes the various angular positions during the revolution of the crank, both the piston and-the slide valves having properly arranged portsso disposed to register at the proper times. I Uther objects and advantages will appear in the following specification, reference heingl'unl to the accompanying drawings, in whit Figure 1 a central vertical section of an engine having a piston embodying the improved shuttle valve n'iechanism,

Fig. 2 is a cross section on the line 22 i i 1, y 3 is a detail section illustrating a slight modification in the arrangementot' the shuttle valves, and

:Figs, i to 8 inclusive, illustrate-the varis of the valve mechanism during one half of a "cycle of operation. By way of preface it should be explained that the shuttle; valve mechanism upon. 'which emphasis is laid herein,- together with the novel formation of the piston which it works, comprises, the im-. portant feature of the invention, The shut- Specification of Letters Patent.

.ment. Y which extends below the head 13 as plainly Patented Sept. 7, M920.

1918. Serial No. 221,246.

tle valves, so called because of their peculiar action, are operated by the connecting rod, advantage being taken of the natural oscillating movement of the cross head of the connecting rod when it assumes the various angular positions with respect to the piston during one revolution of the crank.

In carrying out my invention I provide a cylinder 1 which is mounted upon a crank case 2. Thecylinder 1 has an intake duct 3 embodied therein at one side, and an exhaust passage 4.- at the other.

Communication with a suitable type of carbureter is made through an elbow ,5 to the intake duct 3, and themanner of arranging the carburetor aswell as the duct 3 which in the present instance is shown embodied in the wall of the cylinder, may be changed in any manner as conditions may require. The same applies tothe exhaust passage 4-. In the present instance a manii'old 6 isshown fastened to the outer wall oi the cylinder 1 in communication with theexhaust passage. Intake and exhaustports and 8 res 'mctively, offer communication between the duct and passage and'the inside of the cylinder.

Secured on the top of the cylinder 1 is a head 9 which includes an abutment 10 ox tending down into the cylinder leaving an annular chamber 11. The annular chamber 11 is principally for the purposcof providing a segregated space in which the primary portion of the ignition circuit is completed, by a part of the engine piston, which in itself is of a peculiar and novel construction, as appears more fully below.

The engine piston 12has a head. 13 formed approximately half way of the length of the piston, and the head 13 cooperates with the end of the abutment 10, the explosion chamber 14. of the engine being formed between said head and the end of the abut- The piston includes an apron 15 shown in Fig. 1. The space inside of the piston below the head 13 is occupied by the cross head 16 of a connecting rod 17, and the link mechanism of a pair of shuttle valves 18 and 19.v

Guide groovesQO and 21 in the body of the piston 12 accommodate the shuttle valves 18 and 19 which are the intake and exhaust valves respectively. In the present instance, the shuttle valves are arcuate .so that the burnt in shape as shown in Fig. 2. In forming the grooves in the piston in which the shuttle valves operate, that portion of the piston carrying the head 13 may be made of a thickness equaling the circular diameter of the arcuate shuttle valves. The apron por tion of the piston will then consist of a sleeve fitted over the head portion of the piston, and the two parts secured together.

This is simply an illustration of one of the ways in which the piston may be con-- structed to accommodate the shuttle valves. Instead of making the shuttle valves arouate, they may be made flat but the particular construction as regards the shape of the shuttle valves is immaterial so far as the present consideration is concerned.

Before proceeding further and in the same connection, attention is directed to Fig. 3. This illustrates a modification in the construction of the piston 12. The guide grooves 20 and 21 may be formed on the outside of the piston or in the apron portion, in stead of between the piston walls as shown in Fig. 1. In this instance the valves of course operate in precisely the same manner as will now be set forth.

Intake openings 22 are formed in alinement with each other in the inner and outer walls of the piston 12 at the left side. larly, exhaust openings 23 are formed in alinement in the inner and outer walls of the piston at the right side. The exhaust openings 23 are situated in a plane below the intake openings 22, and are adapted to register with the exhaust port 8 during a portion of the downward stroke of the piston gases may pass out under their own impetus.

An exhaust port 24 in the exhaust shuttle valve 19 is adapted to move into complete registration with the exhaust openings 23 in the instance just mentioned. An intake port 25 in the intake shuttle valve 18 is adapted to move into complete registration with the intake openings 22, when these openings move into ahnement with the intake port 7. This occurs shortly after the exhaust openings and port have performed their function on the downward stroke of the piston.

Links 26 and 27 connect the shuttle valves and cross head 16 together. valve has an car 28 to which the upper end of each link isiconnectcd. Likewise the cross head 16 has ears) 29 to which the lower ends of the links are connected. .A wrist pin 30 is set in the piston "12 and the cross head rocks on the wrist pin. The lower end of the connecting rod is journaled on the crank 31 in the ordinary manner.

Automatic ignition of a compressed charge in the combustion chamber 14, is obtained by Theplug 32 is screwed into the head of the cylinder so that the cud of the plug is exposed in the annular chain- Simb.

Each shuttle pisthe piston is at the extremity of its inward movement, the theh completely compressed charge is accordingly ignited. The arrange ment of the ignition circuit as just described is shown in one instance in diagrammatic Fig. 4. Here one of the terminals of the battery B and the secondan winding S are grounded to the frame. l he other terminal of the battery is connected to the primary winding P, the other end of which is connec ed to the plug 32. The other terminal. of the secondary winding is connected to the spark plug 33. The action can now be readily un dcrstood by tracing out the circuits. and will be more fully explained in the description of the diagrams. p

Water jackets 34 envelop the cylinder 1, and an extension of the water jackets through the head 9 envelops the-sparkplug 33. The

are thus effectively cooled. Packing rings 35 inserted in grooves at suitable places in 9 the apron 15 of the piston and on the abutment 10, serve to keep the gases from leak ing into the annular chamber at the top and the crank case at the bottom.

. While the system ofoiling the moving parts may be on any approved order, particular provision for oiling the moving surfaces of the shuttle valves is made through numerous minute borings36 in the valves.

These borings are arranged substantially as shown in Fig. 1. It can be readily under stood that when the lower exposed parts of the piston become covered with oil as is the case when the splash system is employed,

enough oil will be collected in thesehorings to fill them. and convey oil into the surfaces This spark is made on the closure of the 1 primary circuit through the contact of the end of the shuttle valve 19 with the plug 32. as previously explained. The compressed charge is thus automatically ignited and no eluborate arrangement of timer mechanism is necessary.

Upon explosion of the charge, the piston "moved through 45, when all of the openings and ports in the piston and valves are substantially in complete alinement as shown in Fig. 5.

' the same.

From here on, there is very littlechange so far as the shifting of the various openings and ports is concerned, since the angu-- lar positionassumedby the connecting rod 17 between the 45. osition in Fig. 5 and the 145 position inig. 7, is substantiall After the crank 31 has moved through an additional 45. from the positioil in Fig. 5 to that shown in Fig. 6, the PIG? viously alined exhaust openings 23 and port 24, have come into registration with the exhaust port 8 in the'cylinder wall when the burnt gas rushes out under its own impetus;

An additional movement of 45 to the position shown in Fig. 7, brings the previously aliiied intake openings 22 and port 25 into registration with the intake port 7 inthe cylinder-wall, when a fresh charge of gas enters the-explosion chamber partly through the inducement of the partial vacuum created in the explosion chamber. In the meantime, the exhaust openings and port on the other side have begun to move out of registration thus closing off further communication between the explosion chamber and the exhaust passage during the re mainder of the present cycle of operation.

In Fig. 8 the crank has moved through 180 and the piston is at the limit of its outward stroke. The respective intake and exhaust openings and intake and exhaust ports are now completely out of registration, and when the crank moves on the upstroke to compress the charge in the chaniher 14, there is no possibility of the charge escaping. l/Vhen the second charge is fully compressed it IS ignited similarly as was the first charge as explained in connection avlth Fig.4. I p

\Vhile the construction and arrangement of the engine is that of a generally preicrrcd form, obviously mod fications and changes may be made witliout departing from the spirit ofthe invention or the scope of the claims. l claim 2-- 1. An internal combustion engine, comprising a cylinder with an inward extension,

31 proceeds supporting a spark plug and defining an annular space, a piston partially work ing in the annular space, having a de pressed head cooperating with the exten sion'and defining an explosion chamber; and an insulated contact plug engageable by a portion ofthe piston. in the annular space, to complete a primary electrical circuit and produce a spark at the plug in the secondary branch of the circuit.

' 2. In an internal combustionenginc, a

cylinder having an intake port, an ahut- -'ment extending into the cylinder leaving an annular chamber and providing an explosion head, a piston having a, portion occupying the annular chamber and including a head opposing the explosion head and forming an internal combustion chamber, said piston having intake'openings, a connectingrod joined with the piston and including a crosshead, a shuttle valve mounted within the body of the piston. and having a port normally out of registration with the pistonlink joined between the shuttle valve and the cross head, to move the shuttle valve port into registration with the piston "openings openings, and means including a connecting T during the movement of the piston openings into alinement with the cylinder intake port as the connecting rod travels a portion of its stroke.

3. In an internal combustion engine, a cyl inder having an inwardly extending abutment leaving an annular chamber and providing an explosion head, a piston including a wall slidable iii the annular chamber, said wall having grooves providing valve seats, and gas openings, and a head disposed substantiallyJnid-way of the piston in opposition to the explosion head forming an explosion chamber inside of the piston, a connecting rod including a cross head joined with the piston, a shuttle valve occupying one of the respective grooves each valve having a port normally out of registration with the piston openings, and connecting means between said valves and the cross head, ar

ranged to bring the port of one shuttle ,Valve' into registration with the companion piston openings during a portion of the movement of the piston, before bringing the port of the other valve into registration with, the companion piston openings.

41 An internal combustion engine, comprising a. piston with arcuatc valve guide grooves and alining ports associated with each groove, an arcuate valve operatively mounted in each groove, with a'port arranged to register with the alining ports'to permit the passage of gas; a connecting rod by means of which the piston is actuated, including a cross head, and positive connecting means between the cross head and respective arcuate valves, for reciprocating the valves in said grooves as the positlon of the cross head changes in the operation of the engine.

An internal combustion engine, com prising a piston having e depressed heafl and Valve guide grooves formed substantially centrally of the Well at the sides of the depressed head, alined ports opei'etively associated with said 'rooves bein arl'an 'ed- Y b b to introdncegas into the chamber partially defined by the depreseed headgjand recipi'oeatable valves operatively mounted in said grooves, With ports arranged tn 1" with'the other ports to permit of gas through the Well of the piston .ILBL'ZJ said chainben 6. The combination, of a rehiti ely engine c iindei' with a content ping :1 9 ton opex ing in the cylinder, and having a relatively reeipreeetively mounted. waive member arranged to engage the Contact lug 20 to close an electrical circuit.-

GEURGE BALDWIN GERAFL 

